In recent years around the globe, hydrokinetic energy conversion devices of many kinds have multiplied showing a wide range of inventive ideas intending to maximize efficiency of operation and cost effectiveness. The EERE Marine and Hydrokinetic Technology Database, November of 2011, includes 262 hydrokinetic devices of which 6% claimed to be tested in open water while another 5% are undergoing developmental testing. The EERE data also showed 4% were said to be grid connected and only one technology claimed to be commercially available. Other hydrokinetic technologies are known to exist, however, a point can be made given the EERE data that while the field is ripe with new invention, formidable obstacles stand in the way of development.
Calculating the production, installation and other associated costs of a new hydrokinetic technology may not produce an acceptable outcome in terms of cost per kilowatt hour in today's energy market, creating a challenge for investors to focus more on the long term environmental benefits than projecting the future financial returns. Large scale projects having enormous turbines generating a gigawatt of electricity would be economically more attractive and gamer more hope for municipal use than multiple arrays of kilowatt producing turbines, but hydrokinetic technologies rising to such a grand scale need testing and development opportunities over a long term, beginning with models scaled proportionately to available funding. Grid connections for hydrokinetic technologies provide equally challenging obstacles and may be more economically feasible for large scale projects.
Another use for hydrokinetic energy conversion is found where flowing water is present in remote locations and where grid connections do not exist, are not desirable, or are prohibitively expensive. Small scale hydrokinetic energy conversion systems in this instance would be cost effective, efficient and a reliable means of providing clean electricity from renewable resources. River front property owners, boat owners, military operations, as well as maritime and scientific equipment would benefit from a broad range of hydrokinetic energy conversion devices suitable to their various needs. Small hydrokinetic energy conversion devices would be useful additions to battery bank systems also connected to solar and wind energy conversion devices.
There is a problem with the installation of many hydrokinetic energy conversion devices in that, the stream locations having favorably high flow velocities for viable energy conversion, often present unfavorable conditions for placing and maintaining the required substantial supporting structures, such as submerged pilings and anchors. Environmental concerns prefer not to alter the streambed and existing structures such as bridge abutments or dams may not be available or permissible for such use. A need exists for a portable crosscurrent positioning device for hydrokinetic energy conversion, particularly an electric generating device comprising a horizontal axial flow turbine usable in shallow depths with moderate velocity currents, that can be rapidly deployed and removed from a flowing stream, that does not require an operator to enter the stream and that does not require an anchor fixed to the stream bed. Electric generating hydrokinetic energy conversion devices are known to exist having various portability features and specific design features to aid performance and installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,787 for RIVER TURBINE, issued Oct. 19, 1976 to William J. Mouton, Jr., et al. discloses two parallel horizontal axial turbines, each centered in a primary canted annular nozzle benefiting from an effect of Venturi principle, and a secondary canted annular nozzle circumscribing the primary nozzle creating a passageway for an acceleration of mainstream flow effecting the exhaust of the primary nozzle. The turbines may be mounted beneath a floating platform and tethered to an anchored to the stream bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,943 for HYDRO-ELECTRIC GENERATOR, issued Jun. 3, 1980 to Philippe Vauthier discloses a device tethered to a stream bed using a shrouded fan in a flowing current, whereby the flowing current rotates the fan having hollow blades designed to entrain water and by centrifugal force supply a jet of accelerated water to the vanes of generators mounted in a circular tubing on the periphery of the turbine.
United States Published Patent Application No. 2002/0088222 for DUAL HYDROTURBINE UNIT WITH COUNTER-ROTATING TURBINES, filed Sep. 7, 2001 by Philippe Vauthier discloses a tethered device having two shrouded axial fan turbines fixed parallel to each other operating in counter rotation. Parallel fins arranged around the shrouds are connected perpendicularly to augmentor rings located on the outer trailing edge of each shroud to affect a low pressure zone around exit flow through the shrouds. A mechanically controlled ballast tank alters pitch of the device and by altering the resistance of one turbine fan or the other controls yaw of the device.
United States Published Patent Application No. 2011/0095530 for TETHERED AQUATIC DEVICE WITH WATER POWERED TURBINE, filed Oct. 26, 2009 by Eric Blumer, et al. discloses a method and device comprising a tethered hydrofoil wing with inboard and outboard elevons to control roll, pitch and yaw while preforming a figure eight maneuver submerged in a flowing current. A propeller blade turbine located on the trailing edge of the wing drives a generator while the path of travel increases the turbine speed relative to the flow velocity. The method discloses generating electricity by creating a path of movement within a flowing current with a device which comprises an insulated conductor tether which may be anchored to a point on land or sea.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,022,567 for UNDERWATER DUCTED TURBINE, issued Sep. 20, 2011 to Barry V. Davis, et al. discloses an apparatus for a turbine for generating electrical power from water or air flow comprises a rotor disk having hydrofoil blades, guide vanes, a cylindrical housing, and a generator means. A skirt augmenter device is fitted to the housing to reduce the Betz effect and a screen is added to prevent debris and marine life from entering the turbine.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,291,936 for SUBMERSIBLE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATING PLANT, issued Nov. 6, 2007 to John H. Robson discloses a self-supporting device consisting of two side-by-side counter rotating horizontal axial turbines and a combination of a leverage system and pressure control system adjusting the hydrodynamic lifting forces to maintain constant depths. The device further comprises a torpedo shaped buoyancy tank and an airfoil shaped hydrofoil.
Similar United States patents that disclose hydrokinetic energy conversion devices include: U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,768 for HYDROKINETIC GENERATOR, issued Oct. 29, 2002 to Darwin Aldis Salls, U.S. Pat. No. 7,472,863 for SKY HOPPER, issued Jan. 6, 2009 to Steve Pak, U.S. Pat. No. 7,018,166 for DUCTED WIND TURBINE, issued Mar. 28, 2006 to Christopher Norman Gaskell, U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,466 for HYDRO TURBINE, issued Jun. 25, 2002 to John S. Lamont, U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,711 for HELICAL DEVICE FOR CONVERSION OF FLUID POTENTIAL ENERGY TO MECHANICAL ENERGY, issued May 16, 2006 to Ployed Jeffries Duncan, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 7,456,514 KINETIC HYDROPOWER GENERATION FROM SLOW-MOVING WATER FLOWS, issued Nov. 25, 2008 to Jameel Ahmad, U.S. Pat. No. 7,874,788 for FLOW ENHANCEMENT FOR UNDERWATER TURBINE, issued Jan. 25, 2011 to Russell Stothers, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,298,056 for TURBINE-INTEGRATED HYDROFOIL, issued Nov. 20, 2007 to Andrew Roman Gizara, U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,703 for WAVE ENERGY CONVERTER ARRAY, issued Jun. 25, 1974 James M. Lapeyre, U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,638, for RIBBON DRIVE POWER GENERATION FOR VARIABLE FLOW CONDITIONS issued Sep. 30, 2003 to Jonathan B. Rosefsky, U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,579 for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RETRIEVING ENERGY FROM A FLOWING STREAM OF WATER, issued Jun. 20, 2006 to Joseph Voves, U.S. Pat. No. 7,258,523 for MEANS TO REGULATE WATER VELOCITY THROUGH A HYDRO ELECTRIC TURBINE, issued Aug. 21, 2007 to Herbert L. Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,220 for FLUID CURRENT TURBINE WITH FLEXIBLE COLLECTORS, issued May 24, 1977 to David F. Thompson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,600,963 for FLUID ENERGY CONVERTER, issued Oct. 13, 2009 to Donald C. Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,808 for PORTABLE HYDROELECTRIC GENERATOR UNIT, issued May 24, 1988 to Charles Kaeser, U.S. Pat. No. 7,938,622 for TAPERED HELICAL AUGER TURBINE TO CONVERT HYDROKINETIC ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY, issued May 10, 2011 to Winfield Scott Anderson, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 7,466,035 for TRANSPORTABLE HYDRO-ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM WITH IMPROVED WATER PRESSURE, issued Dec. 16, 2008 to Simon Srybnik et al.
Similar published applications for United States Patents include: United States Patent Published Application No. 2010/0001529 for RIBBON DRIVE POWER GENERATION AND METHOD OF USE filed Jul. 2, 2009 by Jonathan B. Rosefsky, United States Published Patent Application No. 2010/0327583 for PITCH, ROLL AND DRAG STABILIZATION OF A TETHERED HYDROKINETIC DEVICE, filed May 27, 2010 by Turner Hunt, United States Published Patent Application No. 2008/0211233 for WATER TURBINE IN TETHERED ASYMMETRIC NOZZLE, filed May 4, 2006 by Francis Allen Farrelly United States Published Patent Application No. 2009/0087301 for MACHINE FOR INCREASED HYDRO POWER GENERATION, filed Sep. 27, 2008 by Wayne F. Krouse, United States Published Patent Application No. 2010/0090473 for POWER-AUGMENTING SHROUD FOR ENERGY-PRODUCING TURBINES, filed Oct. 15, 2009 by Ben Glass.
None of these patents or publications individually or in any combination disclose or suggest the novel portable electric generating hydrokinetic energy conversion device of the present invention disclosed here in.